TV Licensing Welsh Womens Aid Rowan Dent Equinox
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TV Licensing Welsh Women’s Aid Rowan Dent – Equinox Agency 30/03/2020
Who are we and what do we do? • TV Licensing administers and collects the TV Licence fee. • TV Licensing supports customers to remain correctly licensed and advises on the range of payment options available. • TV Licensing carries out enforcement against TV Licence evaders on behalf of the customers that do pay. The National Audit Office has stated this is an important role. • Prosecution is always a last resort against those who evade paying the licence fee. It must be in the public interest and is only carried out once all other avenues of support have been tried. • TV Licensing engage with over 350 national and regional organisations every year to help them advise and support their clients. We provide help for those that require information in 180 different languages and a range of different formats. • Find out more at www. tvlicensing. co. uk
When do you need a TV Licence? The law says you need to be covered by a TV Licence to: • watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV, on any channel • watch or stream programmes live on an online TV service (such as ITV Hub, All 4, You. Tube, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV, Sky Go, etc. ) • download or watch any BBC programmes on i. Player. This applies to any device you use, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder.
What does it cost? From 1 st April 2020 the cost of a TV Licence is: • colour TV Licence - £ 157. 50 • black and white TV Licence - £ 53. 00. The Government is responsible for setting the level of the licence fee and announced in 2016 it would rise in line with inflation for five years from 1 April 2017.
The new arrangements for over 75 s TV Licences. • Free TV Licences for all over 75 s, funded by the Government, will come to an end on 1 st August 2020. • From 1 st August 2020, anyone aged 75 or over receiving Pension Credit will be eligible to apply for a free TV Licence, paid for by the BBC. • Applicants need to be receiving Pension Credit in their name, or this can be in their partner’s name if they are a couple and living at the same address. • Over 75 s not receiving Pension Credit will need to pay for their TV Licence from 1 st August. • For more on the changes to over 75 s TV Licences, visit www. tvlicensing. co. uk/age
Supporting vulnerable people • Supporting vulnerable people is a priority for TV Licensing. We recognise that some people are vulnerable, and that it is important to provide additional support and reasonable adjustments for these customers. Our Customer Care line can arrange this - 0300 790 6112. • These measures are outlined in our Vulnerable Customers Policy, available at www. tvlicensing. co. uk
Domestic violence refuges • • Since 2017, TV Licensing no longer requires a separate TV Licence for every room in a domestic violence refuge. TV Licensing engages with more than 350 charities and support organisations across the UK each year to continually identify ways to help those who may need additional help and advice.
What are the ways to pay? There are many ways people can pay for a TV Licence including: • Direct Debit – most popular method, which can be annually, quarterly or monthly. • Payment Card – Pay. Point/Cash payment - monthly, fortnightly and weekly. • Online via www. tvlicensing. co. uk using credit or debit card. • Phone using a credit or debit card on 0300 555 0286. • Cheque which can be posted.
Prosecution Code • We only prosecute as a last resort when all our other options have been exhausted. • Before prosecution, we consider an evidential test and a public interest test, following the principles of the Crown Prosecution Service. • The majority of first time offenders are not prosecuted if they buy a TV Licence. • 99% of TV Licensing cases taken to court result in conviction.
Support in different languages and formats • TV Licensing provides a range of information in foreign languages. • There are: • 16 languages available on www. tvlicensing. co. uk • 180 languages available via our telephone translation service. • We also distribute leaflets to community organisations in 26 languages. • Leaflets are available in large print and easy read and our Customer Care line has a text phone facility. • We can arrange for letters to be sent in different formats including Braille.
Further information and resources • Our website www. tvlicensing. co. uk includes a payment facility and a comprehensive Q&A. • Literature can be downloaded from www. tvlicensing. co. uk/communityinfo • A range of free leaflets is available including: Getting a TV Licence, Advice for Advisers, Ways to Pay. We also have customisable posters. • Recorded information on the changes to the over 75 s TV Licence on 0800 232 1382 or online at www. tvl. co. uk/age
Working together • We can provide presentations and briefing materials for community organisations. • We can help with written content and articles on TV Licensing for your website, newsletter, social media, internal briefings, etc. • We have a dedicated advisers’ helpline - 0300 303 9688. • Your Communications Specialist for Wales is Rowan Dent – 07837 238 186 or email rowan@equinox. wales
Thank you Any questions?